ICMR-govt institutes tieup need of the hour

Prof V Mathan,former director of Christian Medical College,Vellore and a head of several government committees on health issues on Thursday said that Indian Council of Medical Research needs to collaborate with government-run medical institutes to help transform health care.

Prof V Mathan,former director of Christian Medical College,Vellore and a head of several government committees on health issues on Thursday said that Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) needs to collaborate with government-run medical institutes to help transform health care.

Speaking at the diamond jubilee celebrations of National Institute of Virology,Mathan said,We need to set up strong clinical partnerships with medical institutions. He said there would be no future for ICMR institutions unless they collaborate with such institutions. We need to achieve the aim of transforming health care and by collaborating with government medical institutions we would only help strengthen the health delivery systems, Mathan said.

He challenged the NIV scientists,who have excelled in responding to emergencies,to take challenges to eliminate one disease. Can we make a blueprint of how to contain infections and then ensure that the technology is available at the village level?, Mathan asked. Lifestyle diseases and non communicable diseases are major health burdens and there is a need for reliable epidemiological data apart from strengthening the health infrastructure,he added.

Dr V M Katoch,Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also called for people-oriented health research. He said that over 200 labs will be set up across the country to handle epidemics and outbreaks.

He told Newsline that ICMR has embarked upon a programme to set up multi-research units at government medical colleges. The thrust on research is so much that grants on projects that are outside the purview of ICMR have increased four fold,Katoch said.

Several scientists including Prof Atanu Basu,Dr Gee Verghese,Dr S N Singh and others were also felicitated.